Space Suit Design Enhancements to Improve Size Accommodation and Mobility

Space suit fit and mobility can significantly affect an astronaut's performance when working in the demanding and extreme environment of space. Construction and habitation of the International Space Station necessitated an increase in the astronaut population resulting in greater variability in the anthropometric profile of crewmembers. The objective of the Small Extravehicular Mobility Unit Development Project was to expand the range of sizing accommodation and improve fit and mobility, specifically for small crewmembers. Modifications to the present suit design were evaluated during pressurized fitchecks in a laboratory environment with representative tools and equipment and in NASA's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory to simulate the effects of microgravity. This project was successful in designing a space suit to accommodate a new anthropometric range of astronauts who cannot be provided with adequate fit in the existing space suit. Significant elements of this prototype are also promising candidates for fut...